title: Lithium niobate nanowires for photocatalytic water splitting.
abstract: Molecule-based preparation of lithium niobate nanowires was achieved by proper combination of a niobium oxooxalate complex, a structure-directing reagent, and a lithium source. Structural and photophysical properties of the nanowires obtained were characterized by several microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. The nanowire was employed as a photocatalyst for overall water splitting, and H(2) or O(2) evolution reaction from an aqueous solution containing a sacrificial reagent under UV light irradiation to show enhanced photocatalytic properties as compared with a bulky counterpart prepared by a solid state reaction. The factors contributing to the enhancement of the photocatalytic performance were suggested to be an increase in active sites for the photocatalytic reaction in conjunction with a large surface area and a small particle size.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science, 1-3 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo 162-8601, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Kazunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koga
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kudo